My Visit to Cardinal Camp

I spent some time at Cardinals camp yesterday, and as promised, I’ll use this post to share my experience.

There was more traffic than I anticipated, so I didn’t arrive at camp until 9:45.  Although it was raining when I left my place, the weather was great in Jupiter (Today I can really feel the sunburn).  I easily found a parking place in front of Roger Dean Stadium and made the short walk around to the back fields.  If you’ve never been to the complex, it’s a beautiful place to see.  Behind the stadium, there are twelve full-size ball fields, and a couple of small ones, all shared by the Cardinals and Marlins.  When I arrived, the team was just finishing their stretching and throwing.

I quickly found the workout schedule, made by Tony La Russa, posted  on one of the backstops.  Upon first glance, I thought I’d need Tony’s secret decoder ring to decipher the mess on the page, but after a little studying, I figured it out (at least in part).  The schedule is complex and precise.  Every player and coach is put into a group.  The groups rotate between fields and stations at certain times.  Everyone has a place to be, and everyone really hustles from field to field.  It’s fun to watch.

I started by watching some fielding practice.  All of the catchers, and Mike Matheny of course, gathered in the small field between fields 1 and 6.  The catchers took turns blocking balls in the dirt fed from a pitching machine.  Matheny painted a half-circle in the dirt, and the idea was to keep the ball within the arc.  The machine was putting some serious spin on the balls, and bouncing them several feet in front of the catchers.  It was funny to see the guys block the ball and then dive after the ricochet.  Molina even threw his mask at a ball.

During this same time, the pitchers were also doing fielding drills.  Most of the big leaguers were on field 1, while the younger guys were on 6.  Both groups were fielding ground balls after a simulated delivery, and throwing them to either first or second.  Then there were rounds of grounders to Pujols, with the pitchers covering first.

On the far fields, the outfielders and infielders were also doing drills, but I didn’t make my way over there. Since the interior paths are blocked off for the players to use, the only way to get to the far fields is to walk around the outfield fences, or take a trolley, which has a few stops along the way.

After a short meeting with La Russa on the small field, the pitchers broke off into more groups, and a catcher or two headed to each station.  Some pitchers were throwing bullpen sessions, some were doing more fielding, this time in front of a big wall, and others were practicing bunting.  They had to lay several bunts down each line, then had to show bunt and swing away.  There was a lot of smack-talking between the pitchers during the swinging away part.

Next, I watched a little situational infielding practice with the “B” squad.  Included in the group was Brian Barden, Rico Washington, David Freese, and surprisingly, Brendan Ryan.  The drills were about reading the batter for bunt coverage with runners on.  If you’re wondering, Jarrett Hoffpauir was in the group with Cesar Izturis, Adam Kennedy, and Aaron Miles.

I spent most of the rest of my time watching live batting practice.  I watched four groups.  The pitchers were Adam Ottavino, Chris Perez, Tyler Herron, and Todd Wellemeyer.  I know that early on in camp the pitchers have the advantage, and that was certainly the case with Ottavino.  He pitched to a group of Colby Rasmus, Brian Barton, Josh Phelps, Cody Hearther, and Jason LaRue.  I think I only saw one ball get hit fair, and it was a soft liner to short.  The first time through there were several swing and misses.

There wasn’t a lot of excitement from the “power” group, which included Albert Pujols, Troy Glaus, Juan Gonzalez, and Scott Spiezio.  Pujols smashed one back up the middle off of Wellemeyer, but it was pretty quiet otherwise.

By far, the most impressive hitting group was the outfielders Rick Ankiel, Chris Duncan, Ryan Ludwick, and Skip Schumaker.  Maybe they’re ahead of the rest because they were in camp early.  All hit the ball hard, and all over the field.  Edit (02/23):  I thought the pitcher during this group was Herron, but I guess I was mistaken.

I noticed a lot of other interesting things yesterday too.  Here are some:

• Chris Perez throws hard.
• Brian Barton is very athletic, but doesn’t look it.
• Troy Glaus is a much bigger guy than I thought he was.
• Ryan Franklin needs a haircut.
• They sell beer and hotdogs.  Big plus in my book!
• “Professional” autograph hounds piss me off.  Let the kids get a ball signed.
• Mickey the munchkin from The Wizard of Oz was there signing autographs.
• Red was cruising around in his golf cart.
• Chris Carpenter was jogging the neighborhood and nearly ran me over as I was leaving.
• The team store was open and I wanted one of everything.

Overall, it was a great day.  I think it’s neat to see major league ballplayers doing the same kind of drills that you do in high school and Legion ball.  Although nothing profound, take a look at the some of my pictures.  I had a lot of fun, and would recommend it to any baseball fan.  If you haven’t been to camp, go.  It’s free. Six more days until the first Spring Training game.